The difference between “close-up” and “macro” photography is fuzzy. In general, both refer to taking pictures of small things in order to make larger than life prints. A distinction for me is that close-up shots tend to be more recognizable and thus less of the surreal and abstract images I look for. That doesn’t mean I don’t think these are great pictures.

• Crocus with Aphids (3 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Crocus-with-Aphids-FINAL-16x20-7X.jpg

  I grow flowers as best I can in containers. This crocus was on my deck after a rain storm. I had to carefully move it without disturbing the water drops to position it for the camera. I didn’t realize the aphids were nicely aligned until after I looked at the processed picture. The entire plant is about 3 inches tall. 41 stacked photos.

  

• Maroon Rrising (Passion Flower - Passiflora Caerulea) (1/4 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/maroon-rising-16x20-FINAL-50X.jpg

  Passion flowers have very complex structures and color combinations. I’ve wanted to capture their beauty since I grew them prior to retirement. I didn’t start doing focus stacking until I moved away from that vine. I was thus very excited when my friend Barbara grew these. The height of the subject is a little more than ¼ inch. 565 stacked photos.

  

• Red Dahlia (5 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Red-Dahlia-FINAL-IMG_4124.jpg

  Dahlias are just gorgeous. I love the explosion of color and the pattern of the petals. I grew this in Rosamond, CA in 2013. My guess is it is a dinner plate dahlia since that’s mostly what I grew. This was prior to my using focus stacking so it’s a single shot. My guess is that the subject is about 5 in.

  

• Muscari Bell (Muscari Neglectum) (3/8 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Muscari-bell-Muscari-neglectum-FINAL-20x16-26X.jpg

  Sometimes beauty only requires simple elegance. This is a common nursery flower. This was early in my photo stacking days and I wanted to see if I could get the full depth of the raceme. That shot is only so-so compared to the single bell. This is one of the first times I modified a flower to get the shot. I clipped away all but one bell. The width of the bell is about 3/8 inch. 37 stacked photos.

  

• Into the Abyss (Passion Flower - Passiflora Caerulea) (1/2 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/into-the-abyss-passion-flower-20x16-FINAL-35X.jpg

  Passion flowers have very complex structures and color combinations. I’ve wanted to capture their beauty since I grew them prior to retirement. I didn’t start doing focus stacking until I moved away from that vine. I was thus very excited when my friend Barbara grew these. The title is from the spiders point of view (although it’s actually a spider skin.) The height of the subject is a little more than 1/2 inch. 565 stacked photos.

  

• Rearing Iris (1 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/rearing-iris-20x16-FINAL-16X.jpg

  I bought some iris bulbs online. It wasn’t until the third year that I got some decent flowers. The flowers are small for irises. Rearing Iris brings out the full color of the yellow tongue and the texture of the petals. To my surprise I got the bright yellow from front lighting rather than back lighting. I purposely present it upside down to get the “rearing” effect and to add a surreal feel to it. The width of the subject is a little over an inch. 129 stacked photos.

  

• Jaw of Iris (1/2 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/jaw-of-iris-20x16-FINAL-40X.jpg

  I bought some iris bulbs online. It wasn’t until the third year that I got some decent flowers. The flowers are small for irises and they dry down really small. Jaw of Iris is of a mostly dried flower where the dried lip has twisted up and hovers over the undried yellow tongue. This is the same flower (at a different lens magnification as Iris Twist.) The width of the subject is about ½ inch. 285 stacked photos.

  

• Iris Twist (1/4 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/iris-twist-20x16-FINAL-80X.jpg

  I bought some iris bulbs online. It wasn’t until the third year that I got some decent flowers. The flowers are small for irises and they dry down really small. Iris Twist is of a mostly dried flower where the dried lip has twisted up and hovers over the undried yellow tongue. The width of the subject is about ¼ inch. 68 stacked photos.

  

• Golden Frond (Pleione Orchid) (0.14 in.)

  http://photo.chjonesconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/golden-frond-pleione-orchid-20x16-FINAL-140X.jpg

  I bought this miniature pleione orchid at the Eugene Farmer’s market. I was sure I could get an interesting picture but the flower was past its prime. It took me two years nurturing the bulbs to get blooms. This was an early effort using 5X magnification. I had to retake photos 3 times to get the framing I wanted. I also developed a new post-processing technique that has served me well since. With the retakes and the learning curve, I estimate I spent 40 hours to finalize this picture. It was worth it. The width of the subject is about 0.14 inches. 46 stacked photos.